Where We Are Today by Detroit Regional Chamber

eq • ui • ty noun The quality of being fair and impartial.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY CHAMBER’S INVENTORY OF PROGRAMS ADDRESSING EQUITY

Equity means fairness and justice and focuses on outcomes that are most appropriate for a given group, recognizing different challenges, needs, and histories. It is distinct from diversity, which can simply mean variety (the presence of individuals with various identities). It is also not equality, or “same treatment,” which does not take differing needs or disparate outcomes into account. Systemic equity involves a robust system and dynamic process consciously designed to create, support, and sustain social justice.

Talent and Education Community Local and National Partnerships Events and Outreach Advocacy Automotive and Mobility Research and Data

A DETROIT REGION WITH E C O N O M I C A N D R AC I A L E Q UA L I TY

$ %

BILLION

economic increase in GDP annually

additional GDP generated annually

Source: PolicyLink

BY 2 0 5 0 , M I C H I G A N S TA N D S TO G A I N $ 9 2 B I L L I O N I N E C O N O M I C O U T P U T BY C L O S I N G T H E R AC I A L E Q U I T Y G A P. Source: W.K. Kellogg Foundation

11/21

EDUCATION AND TALENT If the Detroit r e a ch e s t h e 2030 goal, there an estimated $

region 60% by will be ROI of

42 BILLION.

The talent pipeline in the Detroit region directly impacts the workforce needs and per capita income of the region. Students in the city and region are falling off at various points of their education – before graduating high school, before obtaining a college degree or skilled certificate, and before joining the workforce. Since the majority of Detroit students are Black, Latinx, or of other minority races, these populations are being disproportionately impacted by the broken talent pipeline. With a goal to increase postsecondary education attainment to 60% and cut the racial equity gap by half by 2030, the Chamber’s strategy seeks to: •

Increase access by removing barriers for individuals to pursue postsecondary education.

•

Ensure success by providing robust support to ensure all students in pursuit of a postsecondary education achieve it.

•

Grow talent by ensuring graduates remain in the Detroit region and continue to thrive.

Detroit Promise works with 7 0 0 D e t r o i t h i g h s ch o o l s t u d e n t s a n n u a l l y.

98%

Detroit Promise is a tuition-free pathway to high school students in the City of Detroit. The Detroit Promise team works within high schools to promote the tuition-free pathway to college to students and parents from ninth to 12th grades. While in the schools, the team advocates for students on several items to help them obtain a postsecondary degree. 72%

o f s t u d e n t s a r e l o wi n c o m e o r B l a ck , L a t i n x , o r a n o t h e r m i n o r i t y. 17% 5% B L AC K

Detroit Promise Path students are

T W I C E A S L I K E LY to complete 24 or more credits within t h e i r f i r s t y e a r.

L AT I N X

ASIAN

4% WHITE

2% T WO O R M O R E R AC E S

Through a study with the MDRC of student outcomes in the early stages of their college experience, the Chamber found that Detroit Promise students were facing many roadblocks in their first year that often led to the students dropping out. The Detroit Promise Path was created to add “campus coaches” to provide intrusive advising full-time on the community college campuses. These coaches meet with Detroit Promise students regularly, provide them a monthly stipend, and ensure they have access to resources beyond school, such as food assistance, transportation, time management, and more.

Detroit Drives Degrees’ collective impact has brought together more than 100 stakeholders in business, education, and philanthropy to meet the Chamber’s goals to increase the region’s educational attainment rate to 60% and reduce its racial equity gap in degree attainment by half by 2030. Through unprecedented collaboration, these partners worked together on the Detroit Regional Talent Compact, a roadmap to meet both goals and ensure all sectors are working in alignment. The 2020 State of Education also focused on equity. The featured speaker was Andre M. Perry, senior fellow in the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program who addressed inequities in education.

REGIONAL DEBT FORGIVENESS The Chamber worked in partnership with Henry Ford College, Oakland University, and Wayne State University to expand college debt forgiveness as a means to remove barriers to finishing a degree for this population. The partnership was established to increase enrollment while helping students who may have dropped out due to not being able to pay a hold on their account.

business, higher e d u c a t i o n , K - 12 , and community and philanthropic partners signed the Compact, c o m m i tt i n g t o r e d u c e educational equity gaps with specific action plans within their own o r g a n i z a t i o n s t o r e a ch these goals.

While 21% of adult stop-out students in t h e r e g i o n a r e B l a ck ,

45%

of stop-out students with debt a r e B l a ck .

It is estimated that 676,545 adults in the Detroit region have some college experience but have not earned their postsecondary degree or certificate. Helping these adults reconnect and complete their education is a priority to achieve 60% of the region’s population having a postsecondary degree by 2030. Reaching this goal will increase the per capita income for the region and reduce the equity gap for many Black and minority adults. The Chamber’s Detroit Reconnect initiative connects directly with these adults and helps them evaluate their education and career options. Staff offer counseling, support, and resources to ensure these individuals succeed when they restart their education. The ultimate goal is to ensure these individuals not only receive a postsecondary degree or certificate but also obtain a pathway to earn a sustainable living wage to support themselves and their families. These efforts are now also being supported by the State through the Futures for Frontliners program, which is helping essential workers who have served through the COVID-19 pandemic begin or complete a degree or certificate program.

3 Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey, 2019 One-Year Estimates

COMMUNITY

44%

of Leadership D e t r o i t ’s a n n u a l c l a s s a r e p e o p l e o f c o l o r.

Most of the projects receiving grants have been

L E D BY W O M E N O F C O LO R .

Over the past 41 years, Leadership Detroit has provided a transformational leadership experience to over 2,000 leaders focused on solving the region’s biggest challenges. Racial disparities are at the foundation of Leadership Detroit’s program, raising discussion on topics related to the region’s educational equity and funding gaps, public safety and how law enforcement interacts with communities of color, inclusive measures taken to lift up women and minority entrepreneurs, awareness of the barriers people of different racial groups experience, and a focus on understanding the state of race relations and opportunities for improvement.

Through grants and in-kind business support, the Chamber and General Motors Co. support nonprofits focused on innovative and collaborative solutions to the issues facing neighborhoods in the City of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park. Often, these are small nonprofits that normally do not receive large grants or funding opportunities, which creates opportunity to fund ideas that other wise may not be possible.

of 1 3 projects are led by people of color.

of 1 3 projects are led by Black people.

of 1 3 projects are led by Black women.

10 o u t o f 1 3

podcast e p i s o d e s fe a tu r e d B l a ck small business owners.

6 of 13

podcast e p i s o d e s fe a tu r e d wo m e n owned small businesses. Presented by the Chamber and Rocket Mortgage, the podcast showcases the robust community of small businesses that have reopened and reinvented to keep their customers and employees safe amid COVID-19. Their stories demonstrate how they have survived, and even thrived, through an unprecedented global pandemic with community support.

The Chamber has forged several partnerships with local and national programs that support entrepreneurs. In its supporting role, the Chamber serves as a conduit between these organizations and the regional business community to ensure more equitable opportunities and sustainable solutions.

LOCAL AND NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

The Chamber has engaged with the city of Detroit’s Detroit Means Business initiative to support and promote efforts to create a strong small business community. Through referrals and promotion of the Buy Detroit Portal, the Chamber has supported the initiative’s goal of connecting buyers with Detroit suppliers to increase supply chain diversity.

CENTER ON BLACK VOICES

DETROIT RACIAL EQUITY DATA COALITION

The Chamber is currently seeking funding to support its Racial Justice and Economic Equity (RJEE) efforts to establish the Detroit Racial Equity Data Coalition and bring the Gallup Center on Black Voices to Detroit. These steps will drive new collective action initiatives aimed at increasing equity and improving outcomes for all Detroiters. The Coalition will serve as the “client” of Gallup for a new hyper-local survey on the experience of Black Detroiters. The survey will produce new, unique data that offers insight on the perceptions, feelings, desires, and life experiences of Black Detroiters. Gallup will assist the Coalition in forming a new data center that combines analysis of all existing regional data assets with the new survey. The Coalition will use the combined data to partner on new collective action projects to reduce equity gaps for all Detroiters. The results of the collective action projects will be tracked annually by Gallup to measure impact.

EVENTS AND OUTREACH

While these resources have been made available to businesses across the state, reporting indicates Detroiters rank as the number one source of we b s i t e t r a ff i c .

8 2 % of

businesses in the city of Detroit are minority-owned.

The Chamber has continually aimed to to increase diversity of demographics on event committees, speaker, and panelist selection. Program committees and partner organizations assist with finding diverse candidates to create quality programming.

BUSINESS RESTART CENTER The COVID-19 Business Restart Center provides federal, state, and local resources including information on funding, re-opening strategies, and sector-specific guidance, providing support to minority-owned businesses. In late spring 2020, the Chamber began to use the platform it created through its Town Hall Series to convene discussions on the movement for racial justice and achieving equity. Topics included ensuring racial justice and equity in the COVID-19 economic recovery, civility and racial equality, and diversity in the workplace.

COMMUNICATION The Chamber’s RJEE website and blog have provided resources, programs, business features, and updates on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The special edition October 2020 Detroiter magazine focused on advancing the conversation on racial justice and economic equity in Southeast Michigan. The Chamber’s goal was the share stories and information about the region and the issues impacting the community. With this edition, the Chamber worked to capture a snapshot of the work underway to create a more just, equitable region for all and to challenge its organization and members to contribute to or emulate those efforts. The Chamber’s social media has been used to promote programs and business opportunities for diverse-owned businesses, speak out against violence and racism against Asian Americans and Black Americans, defend voting rights, and more.

EXTERNAL PROGRAMMING For years, the Chamber has prioritized bringing racial justice and economic equity-focused conversations to Michigan’s Center Stage at the Mackinac Policy Conference. Some national thought leaders of recent programming have included Stacey Abrams, Donna Brazile, Roz Brewer, Raj Chetty, Harold Ford Jr., and Eugene Robinson.

41%

of mainstage speakers in 2021 w e r e p e o p l e o f c o l o r.

The 2021 Conference continued to highlight diversity on the main stage, where 41% of the speakers were people of color, and 30% were women. Harvard Economist Raj Chetty took the stage to provide insight into and research on how to improve economic opportunity and upward mobility for all individuals. This presentation was followed by a panel discussion focused on actionable accountability in preparing students for postsecondary education to ensure success regardless of economic and social resources. Members of the Chamber’s RJEE Steering Committee also discussed the Chamber’s efforts to improve DEI and the importance of diversity in the workplace. The Conference is fortunate to have support from foundations. Several concurrent sessions hosted by these foundations addressed solutions that would assist in Michigan’s economic recovery, specifically addressing racial and economic equity barriers to success. Top DEI sessions included Racial Equity in the Workplace, Investing in Health Equity, Poverty to Prosperity: Building Equity into Michigan’s Economic Future, and High Expectations, High Returns: Investing in Minority Entrepreneurs.

The 2021 Detroit Policy Conference gathered business leaders and community members in person at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre in July 2021. Speakers offered insightful analysis of how to create opportunities for Detroit’s economic recovery, the importance of a thriving small business sector, and policy updates that will impact Detroiters’ futures. Sessions included: the Future of the Inclusive Workplace, The Future of Neighborhood Investment and Equitable Development, and What’s at Stake with Changing Voting Rights.

9 of 17

speakers we r e B l a ck .

EXTERNAL PROGRAMMING (Continued)

DIVERSE- AND BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS SERIES The Chamber launched a series of events across 2021-2022 as part of its RJEE efforts. The series aims to help Black- and diverse-owned businesses in the region succeed by connecting them with experts and resources on capital, procurement, the digital divide, policy needs, and talent access.

To amplify local diverse leaders, the Chamber launched a town hall series, Celebrating Diverse Voices, in 2020. Speakers in the series included Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Alexis Wiley, Sommer Woods, Dr. Antoine Garabaldi, Lisa Lunsford, Rhonda Walker, Stephen Henderson, Dennis W. Archer Sr., and Dennis W. Archer Jr. Additional diverse leadership was highlighted through the Lessons in Leadership series and COVID-19 town halls.

RACIAL JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC EQUITY DISCUSSIONS Using the success of the Chamber’s COVID-19 platform, the RJEE discussions grew to include webinars with topics including diversity in the workplace, ensuring racial justice and equity in the COVID-19 economic recovery, and racial disparities in vaccine distribution.

The MPC20 Conversations was a 13-week webinar series that highlighted Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist Eugene Robinson and featured DEI topics such as The Economic Cost of Inequity, 2020 Civility Project, and Black and Bright: Advancing Equitable Education Policies for a Great Michigan.

ADVOCACY The Chamber’s advocacy team is the voice of greater Southeast Michigan businesses in Lansing and Washington D.C. From promoting policies that increase access to health insurance while opposing policies that drive up costs for employers and individuals, to education reform that helps students succeed and provides the districts the resources needed to help them, the team has advocated on behalf of the community on smart legislation that is fair and equal for all.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM As a longstanding supporter of juvenile detainment reform, the Chamber supported a package of 16 bills that sought to reform the state’s criminal justice system. Under the legislation Gov. Whitmer signed into law last year, 17-year-olds are now subject to the juvenile justice system instead of state prisons. This legislation changes Michigan statute so that minors currently entrapped in the penal system can instead receive age-appropriate rehabilitation and then participate in Michigan’s workforce without the disadvantage of a criminal record. Gov. Whitmer also recently signed Chamber-backed legislation making it easier for residents to get past convictions erased from their record. It is the latest sweeping criminal justice package to become law during the 2019-20 legislative term. The Chamber has been a longtime advocate of policies creating pathways for returning citizens to rejoin the workforce and create new talent pools for businesses.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DE-ESCALATION TRAINING POLICY Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, another public health crisis became clear concerning racial justice due to the killing of George Floyd. The Michigan Legislature quickly got a bill together that would require and establish minimum training standards for all incoming and existing law enforcement officers, including de-escalation techniques, implicit bias training, procedural justice training, and mental health resources for law enforcement officers. The Chamber was an advocate for the package that ensured the state had financial resources to execute the programs for immediate and longterm impacts.

RISING INCOME FOR ALL The Chamber joined efforts to call on political leaders to start developing strategies to ensure the growing economy in Michigan benefits all. It made the recommendation that reducing the ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) rate statewide, in every county for every subgroup, become a universal measure of success. The measurement captures households that don’t earn enough money to pay for necessities such as child care, housing, food, transportation, health care, a cellphone, and taxes. According to the latest ALICE data, 43% of Michigan households don’t earn enough money to pay for those items. To tackle this, one of the most significant economic challenges of our time, the Chamber will continue to push for state and regional economic development; community development and housing; and workforce development policies and programs to drive continued economic growth that is equitable.

VOTING RIGHTS The Chamber leveraged its clout in the business and political communities in the Detroit region and Lansing to advocate on voting rights issues, specifically against measures that would unreasonably impact people of color. In addition, the Chamber recruited more than 40 C-Suite leaders from Michigan’s largest companies to issue a joint statement on the importance of access to the ballot and issued its own statement in defense of voting rights with the support of the Chamber Board leadership.

AUTOMOTIVE AND MOBILITY MICHauto’s commitment to diversity in the automotive and mobility industry included leading chief executive officer roundtables, publishing op-eds, recording podcasts, hosting DEI training sessions for committee members, and including sessions at MICHauto’s State of Automobility event, all with a focus on increasing accountability and advancing DEI in the industry.

In 2020, MICHauto partnered with the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion, and Advancement (CADIA), whose mission is to double the number of diverse leaders in automotive by 2030, to develop curriculum, awareness, and a business model on DEI. Through this partnership, the MICHauto team has committed to increase outreach and measurable impact on DEI across the automotive and mobility industry through engagement and education.

In 2021, MICHauto and CADIA created the CEO Coalition for Change, a group of automotive executives committed to taking action to make meaningful strides in DEI to become a more inclusive industry, better engage the workforce, and create economic opportunities in the communities in which they serve and operate.

The Detroit Mobility Coalition, created in 2016, has brought together organizations and partners in building the mobility ecosystem in Detroit. Its work focuses on creating collaboration between stakeholders and developing and executing plans, actions, and events to advance technology and solutions in Detroit’s mobility space. A large focus of the coalition’s work is racial equity in the automotive and mobility industry.

Research and analysis offered by the Chamber provides opportunities to further understand the racial equity landscape in the Detroit region. The Detroit Data Center website provides public access to demographic measures, including metrics by race and ethnicity. The research portfolio also includes equity measures integrated into the Chamber’s signature reports, publications, and website presence. The research team supports Chamber programs, partners, and the public with access to data and information to address inequities and gain greater understanding to enact change.

RESEARCH AND DATA

With a focus on advancing the conversations on racial justice and economic equity, the October 2020 Detroiter magazine featured data related to the costs of racial inequity, the intersection of poverty and policy, and DEI in the workplace and the Detroit region.

The Chamber’s Racial Justice and Economic Equity website, published in September 2020, features ongoing updates related to DEI, data, and reports.

The second year of reporting in the February 2021 State of Education included new metrics, by race, with the goal of closing the equity gap in postsecondary education attainment. The State of the Region report included data focused on the K-shaped recovery and its impact on the region’s diverse populations.

DETROIT REGIONAL DASHBOARD 2020: MEASURING ECONOMIC & SOCIAL PROGRESS

B I T. LY/ D E T R O I T R E G I O N A L D A S H B O A R D

The Detroit Regional Dashboard, created in coordination with the Detroit Regional Partnership with input from regional foundations and peers, was released in April 2021. The dashboard provides a snapshot of socioeconomic regional metrics, with a focus on equity measures across data sets including economics, business, talent, education, community, and infrastructure.

THE DETROIT REGIONAL CHAMBER

The Chamber Board of Directors, senior leadership team, and human resources have made a commitment to do better. Its leaders have made a personal commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion and will continue to address the need for a Board and staff that fully represents the 11-county Detroit region moving forward.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Chamber strives for diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, generation, business size, and business type in its governance practices. •

The Nominating and Governance Committee reviews a demographic matrix of the entire Board of 82 directors prior to the nominating process to understand where there are opportunities to diversify representation.

•

Board meetings include communication for the need for diverse director candidates and requests of Board members to submit names of candidates.

•

Board committees are continually examined for diversity and when open seats become available, diversity needs are addressed.

•

Concerted effort over the last three years to recruit Board members of color from existing Board member referral.

Board member diversit y increased from

1 6 % in 2 01 5 to 4 0 % in 2 0 2 1.

DETROIT REGIONAL CHAMBER ’S APPROACH TO RACIAL JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC EQUITY The RJEE Steering Committee was created in 2020 and comprises regional executives that work with the Chamber’s internal team on decision making and program implementation, helping identify opportunities to advance DEI. The Chamber’s RJEE work is organized into three workstreams: internal focus, external programming, and leveraging the Chamber’s regional reach and convening power. S t a ff r a c i a l d i v e r s i t y increased from

2 5 % in 2 01 5 to 3 5 % in 2 0 2 1.

The internal focus on DEI included the creation of an Equity Task Force that comprises 18 staff members from across the organization, with engagement and support from the Executive Management Team. The Task Force evaluates and develops recommendations to improve hiring, retention, engagement, staff input, and procurement, to strive for a more equitable workplace. Internal teams have been advised by board members from the RJEE steering committee through the recommendation process. The Chamber has long embraced a culture of diversity, through educational opportunities such as peer conversations, Leadership Luncheon series featuring business leaders of color, staff participation in New Detroit’s Multicultural Leadership Series, and tours of cultural institutions. However, over the course of 2020, several impactful initiatives were added, including:

•

Courageous Conversations series featuring regional leaders, along with creation of the accompanying resource, Talking About Diversity: Courageous Conversations in the Workplace, which was adopted as a best practice by CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion

•

Unconscious Bias training for managers and all staff members

•

The DEI Workplace Survey to receive additional feedback from staff

•

The Chamber’s office closure in recognition of Juneteenth